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NASB | Acts 28:1 When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 28:1 After we were safe [on land], we found out that the island was called Malta. |
Subject: What is so significant about Malta? |
Bible Note: Hello Tim and Ron! I did a little 'digging' here and found that the formal equivalence translations, such as the NASB, KJV, NKJV, Darby's New Translation and ASV all have this verse (Acts 27:26) translated as "a certain island." However, Tim is correct in saying that the Greek does not lead one to be specific here, but it uses an indefinite pronoun. I agree that this verse is best rendered as "any old island" rather than a "specific island".. The RSV and dynamic equivalence translations such as the NIV, ISV, NLT, Amplified, Holman Christian Standard, and Today's English Version all render this verse as "some island", which is a clearer meaning here. Is this verse in its context a "triumph" of dynamic equivalence over formal equivalence, since the meaning is conveyed a little clearer in dynamic equivalence translations? I believe that the RSV/NRSV tradition and Young's Literal Translation have the 'advantage' here in this passage, since the NRSV and YLT are considered to be formal equivalence translations and render this verse in this way, "When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land." (NRSV) This is an interesting study comparing the formal equivalence translations with the dynamic equivalence translations.. --Nolan |